


When Your Son Turns Out to Be A Hero

by HeartOfIris



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Family Bonding, Father-Son Relationship, Gabe trying to fix things, Gabriel Agreste Is Not Hawk Moth, he's going to TRY
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-30
Updated: 2017-08-02
Packaged: 2018-11-21 13:57:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11358900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HeartOfIris/pseuds/HeartOfIris
Summary: When Gabriel figures out Adrien is one of Paris's dynamic duo, he tries to do the right thing, and be a supportive father, even if he's scared for his son's safety. After all, he wouldn't want his mistakes from the past repeating again with Adrien.





	1. Chapter 1

Maybe he saw the footage wrong. Maybe it was just a hallucination, a trick on the brain. Surely, both he and Nathalie must be seeing it wrong.

That couldn’t be his son…

But it was him.

Gabriel sighed as he looked at the footage a third time, watching the feed in normal speed. The new camera, installed a week ago, watched as Adrien went about his afternoon, with a strange black spot flying around, seeming to be holding a conversation. At 5:37, a time where Gabriel remembered getting a notification email that announced an Akuma was active in Paris, it happened. His son, jumping from his seat, seemed to call for the spot, before a flash of green enveloped him, leaving an all too familiar masked hero in his son’s place.

As he opened the window and made his exit, the elder Agreste stopped the footage and sighed, the all too familiar knot forming in his stomach about the revelation. _It can’t be happening again, he can’t be following in our footsteps_. He thought to Duusu, still asleep in the safe with the book, and the chaos induced when the miraculous was put to sleep years ago, let alone when his wife disappeared last year. Should now be the time to return it to Fu and discuss the issue with Hawkmoth? Should he try and tell Adrien, before the finds out and confront him?

“Sir, how do we handle this?”

He turned to look at his assistant, worry slipping through her stoic face about the matter at hand. What exactly do they do about this? While talking to him will blow away the suspicion, there’s also a chance he’ll lash out or insist he’ll control his life. If he keeps quiet, the tension between him and his son will continue, and it’ll let Adrien continue to try and hide everything…

Why couldn’t his wife be here? _Ariel_ , he thought somberly, _I wish you was here to help_. I don’t think I can do this without you… He kept attempting to play his options, trying to decide if telling him would be fair, when he heard a cough from Nathalie, pulling him back from his thoughts.

“Sir the feed just showed him transforming to leave. I think it’s the time when him and Ladybug patrol the city.”

“Wait, they go out and scan the city, even when there’s no Akumas?”

“Yes, there’s footage on the Ladyblog from them doing runs and stopping small crimes.”

“… He does this alongside his school AND his extracurriculars?”

“It appears so.”

 _So he's been doing all of this since he started attending that school, keeping up with everything without telling us..._ His face paled as he thought back to his younger years, when he was hiding everything from his family, when he was insistent that he didn't need their help. It caused him years of hardship and strain with his family doing all of this with no attempt to let his family know...

And he can't let his son repeat his mistakes. Not again.

“… Then I've made my decision on this matter. Nathalie, cancel any meetings today along with any activities Adrien has. I’m… I’m going to talk to him about this, maybe see if he wants any changes to his schedule.”

“Are you sure about this? This might not end well.”

Gabriel stood up, walking to the portrait of his wife, looking at it deeply. Had Natalie knew, she’d be aware he’s really looking past the painting, staring at the safe holding the life he had years ago. He’s made one terrible mistake before, and he refuses to let Adrien repeat it.

“I would rather make sure Adrien knows we won’t stop him, then let him we might take everything away from him. I’d want nothing than for him to be safe, but I need to let him know that I do trust him doing this… Also inform Gorilla of this matter. He should know that he’s guarding a hero.”

As Nathalie left to make calls and changes, he walked back to his desk and pulled a drawer open, pulling a worn photo out from beneath the stack of portfolios. It was a photo of everyone from a Christmas a few years ago, all of them smiling at the camera Gabriel was holding. The group dressed in reds, greens and white around the chrome tree in the main hall, Natalie and Gorilla further back behind the couch looking over at the last second. He saw the large smile on their faces, a smile he knows been lacking in the home for the last year.

He might not be able to completely brings things back to normal, but that doesn’t mean he can try and fix his mistakes from all those years ago.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the next day comes around, Gabriel tries to handle his nightmares, talking with Adrien, ... and telling him he knows.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's Chapter 2! I'll be honest, I had a lot of issues trying to write this, and even debated between having the conversation in this chapter in the next one, but I felt like the next chapter should be lighter and kept it here. Hope you enjoy!

Most mornings, Gabriel would be waking up as the sun rose for the day. He would look out his window, whether he was in his mansion or a hotel room, and watch as the night sky turned to day, reminiscing about the times he would look out and use nature itself as an inspiration for his works in his early portfolios. He’d see the sun and think of his wife- and later his son-, whose hair somehow matched the yellow hue of the star no matter the time of day. And eventually, when the sun was further in the sky, he’d leave his room and start his day with enough energy to get through the day.

This morning was NOTHING like that.

The man had awoken much later than his usual time, with the sun already a good way up in the sky shining onto his bed. With the sounds of a random Parisian yelling at someone in the streets and cars driving by, he dragged his feet out the bed, and grabbed his morning robe on the way out, too tired to present himself well.

The night was plagued with nightmares, all of which involved his son. He was out with Ladybug, doing his usual heroics with no problem, but there was no suit. There was no magic armor that protected him, no mask that hid his face, just him in his normal clothes, holding a baton in hand. He saw his son punched into walls, tossed out of windows, and thrown across buildings fighting Akumas. He saw his son slowly get covered in bruises, smiling as he would jump in front of the spotted girl even when she would tell him not to. He saw his son slowly become used like a puppet for Akumas, fighting the girl and causing destruction under someone’s will. The images kept pulling him back awake, with no way to go back to sleep without them coming back where they left off. Dragging his feet through his part of the household, he eventually found himself to his son’s door, thinking about his discovery from yesterday.

His sons been spending almost a year doing this, getting beaten or possessed, for the sake of the city. The revelation wasn’t there yesterday, but now they were front and center for the night, telling him that no, he can’t stop this from happening. He knew how Fu worked; removing him from the fight would make things worse, and there is definitely no one else who could fill his son’s shoes here. Or claws, as he would put it. His thoughts were still so thrown off from his night, he failed to hear the door open.

“Father? Didn’t you have a meeting in Monaco today?”

Pulled back to reality, he looked at his son, already dressed as if he was going to a shoot. Guess Natalie didn’t inform him of his schedule changes. Not surprising since she was just as shocked as he was in his office yesterday.

“I had Natalie cancel my appointments for the day. Same for your schedules. I feel as we haven’t had a whole day to ourselves to spend time together in a long time. Do you still have room for Brunch?”

Adrien had slowly nodded his head, shock still on his face, and the two made their way to the dining room, notifying the chef to prep a brunch meal.

 

* * *

 

The duo ate in silence, Gabriel drinking the last of his coffee while Adrien made an effort not to aggressively eat the last of his omelet, enjoying the second helping. While he's heard of his son buying large amounts of cheese, seeing him eat through the brunch reminded him of just how much Adrien's diet hasn't been adjusted to his, uh, 'extracurricular'.  _How long has he’s been going with less food than needed due to his ‘side job’,_ he thought to himself. He decided to calculate it later and inform his nutritionist to change his entire diet, and took a deep breath as he breached himself to talk to his son.

“So, how has school been so far this year?”

“Oh,” Adrien starts after finishing his food, keeping his manners, “It’s been nice. I have at least one class with most of my classmates from last year, not counting homeroom I mean, and my chemistry partner for this year is Marinette, you remember her, right?”

The thought of the young girl from last year from last year's derby competition came to his mind. While he wouldn't keep extra attention, her detail in her signature to prove her work was impressive enough to make sure to be on the look out for her in other competitions for his company. “I do. I hope she’s as good in chemistry as she is in her sewing work.”

“She’s pretty good, but I’m excited since she was so nervous to talk to me last year, and now she’s opening up more and it’s like we’re good friends now! not just friends cause of our friends dating!”

As Adrien continued talking about his lab partner, noticed the slight extra energy in his eye mentioning her, how he’s still talking about her when some would’ve ended it sooner. He knows this look he’s seen it before on himself, gushing about Ariel to his mother when they shared an art class for the first time, his personal book filled with sketches of her from memory. Unbecoming for a man of his status, but completely normal for a teen in love.

Just how did he ignore his son slowly falling in love? How did he ignore the details before when he mentioned spending time with the girl alongside her friend and Nino? Was he even sure Adrien had talked about friends aside from Nino? He's certain he would've known if a girl was mentioned before.

Has he really been this blind to his son’s life?

“You sound really interested in her,” he started, interrupting his son mid rambling. “Do I sense something here?”

Red speared on his son’s cheeks as he denied the statement, insisting that it was only recently they had conversations, but Gabriel could tell there was something building under his denial. He almost forgot the point of this entire day, if not for the tinge of silver on his son’s finger.

Eye’s focusing on it, he felt the knot in his throat build up again, his mind remembering the images from last night. For a short moment, he sees bruises on his son's face, a dark color blossomed across his cheek as he kept talking as nothing was wrong. He fumbles in putting his mug down, the noise echoing through the room, and he can see Adrien look his way in worry.

“Is everything okay?”

“Of course, what make you say that?”

“You’re looking really pale, kinda how you was earlier.”

            Well then, his son’s more attentive than he thought. He wanted to wait longer, wait until the end of the day when they’ve gotten on a better level for the subject. But as his son rests his hand on his shoulder, concern on his face as he looks at the man, he let out a heavy sigh and sat up.

            “Okay, there’s something wrong. I was thinking about yesterday’s Akuma attack.”

            “Oh… the attack?”

            “Yes,” he started, “I was just… noticing how young they were. I noticed it back during the Simon Says incident, but I don’t think it really sunk in until recently.”

            “Sunk in?”

            He looked at his son, trying to see if he should tell him now, but continued. “They look no older than you and your classmates, Adrien. They could be coming home injured and hurt, trying to balance their school life with this duty. Do you think their parents are aware of them getting hurt? Or do they hide it from them as well?”

            “Maybe it’s for their safety,” Adrien said, “they might not want their family to get hurt or targeted by HawkMoth if they knew the truth.”

            “No parent would reveal and put their child at risk for someone to harm them for some short fame. No matter the severity, a child should be able to trust and rely on their parents for things. I think yesterday’s attack made me realize that I’ve… been failing in that regard.”

            “Father…

            “Adrien,” he stood and rested his hands on his son’s shoulders, bracing himself for his next sentence. “I’m… I’m aware that you’re Chat Noir. Natalie and I caught security feed of you transforming yesterday when you left to fight the Akuma. When I realized it was you, I was terrified for your safety. Remembering the reports of Chat being possessed or thrown through town the past year, and knowing it’s you… I feel like I’ve made a mistake in raising you. I left you feeling like you couldn’t tell me about this, let alone Natalie and Gorilla.”

            He held his breath and waited for a response, looking at Adrien for an answer from his son. Did he make a mistake telling him he knew? Did he make things worse?

Wait, why does Adrien look lost at his statement?

            “You didn’t make a mistake.”

            “Excuse me?”

            “I mean, I didn’t tell you or anyone else because you just let me go to public school, and I was worried you would take the ring from me.” He looked down, looking torn to finish, but continued. “Plus you were so busy with the company and lines, I never really expected you to notice anything happening. You didn’t really raise me wrong as much as I couldn’t… see you accepting this.”

            “Adrien…”

            He doesn’t recall him pulling his son into a hug, but he heard him start crying into his robe and hugging as hard as he could. He tightened his hug, and for a moment, the weight in his chest was gone. There wasn’t a ruined chance to talk to his son, and he hadn’t missed his chance to fix everything. He could fix this.

            He _will_ fix this.

* * *

 

            Meanwhile, while the two hugged in the middle of the dining room, a certain black kwami watched the scene happen in front of him. Humming to himself, he flew back to Adrien’s room, ready to take another nap on his computer table.

            Maybe not breaking the new security camera was a good idea after all.

**Author's Note:**

> Wow, this is actually being posted. This idea has been rattling in my head since the end of season one, and I thought It would be interesting to write Gabriel as someone who, while putting his son's safety first, hold his tongue if he knows nothing can be done to stop it. I also wanted to peel off the layers on him, to see a bit more of what makes him tick and see him stumble around being a dad more.


End file.
